Three of Coca

Today was one of the days I had been looking forward to most on this trip. I volunteered with a local organization helping build a house. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when we started, but there were several of us working together, and everyone seemed to find something they could do.

By the end of the afternoon, most of the house was framed. I stood there looking at it and couldn't quite believe how much had changed in only a few hours. I could point to the wall I had helped raise, but there wasn't really a piece of the house that belonged to any one person. Someone measured. Someone cut. Someone held things steady. Someone knew what needed to happen next when the rest of us didn't.

I came here wanting to give something back during this journey. Tonight I'm realizing how good it felt simply to work beside people toward something tangible. This morning there was an unfinished structure. Tonight, because a group of people showed up and each did what they could, there is the beginning of a home.